When she heard that Liu Sizhuang, who had escaped, had to be caught again, Sun sat down on the ground again and cried and howled. No matter how disgusted the Red Team members looked at her, she just pulled Liu Erzhuang's trouser legs and asked him to explain to the Red Team members:
It was not Liu Sizhuang who took the initiative to beat Liu Sanzhuang, but An Baoling and Li Daya just couldn't stand Liu Sizhuang doing well, so they teamed up to bully Liu Sizhuang's family. They framed Liu Sizhuang together.
"Grandma, you said that my mother and second mother framed Liu Sizhuang, then where did the wound on my father's head come from?" □□ couldn't bear to listen anymore, so he stood in front of Sun with clenched fists and asked loudly.
Sun Shi didn't like Liu Sanzhuang, and of course she didn't like Liu Sanzhuang's son, so she usually didn't even look at this grandson. Now when she looked up and saw the tall and strong grandson standing in front of her, and the hatred in his eyes, she was stunned.
The Red Team member weighed the bench and asked Sun with disdain: "Yes, can you tell me how Liu Sanzhuang got the injury on his head?"
"He hit himself. He lost his balance and tripped and fell onto the bench, which is how he broke his head." It's not for nothing that Sun has been making such a fuss over the years that he actually came up with such a plausible excuse.
Xia Juhua shook her head after hearing this. If Sun had told the truth when Li Daya took out the bench or when the police asked her, Liu Erzhuang could have run some hoops for him after the Red Team took Liu Sizhuang away. But Sun was still stubborn and even went so far as to accuse An Baoling and Li Daya of slandering Liu Sizhuang. It was strange that Liu Erzhuang would care about him.
Xia Juhua thought that as a mother, you really can't be partial. Not only can you not be partial, you also have to see clearly what your children look like, and you can't put all the blame on others.
Xia Juhua was shocked by the emotion she suddenly felt: no matter in her previous life or in her new life, she always believed that the two children she gave birth to were instigated by their respective wives. Was it also because of favoritism?
She favors her own children and puts all the blame on her daughter-in-law. If the two children she gave birth to in her previous life could have been the same as now, and always agreed with her, would her daughters-in-law still dare to gossip about her like they did in her previous life?
For example, now, Liu Zhiquan took out the money from carrying food bags to ask his mother to buy a headscarf, and Wang Caifeng didn't disagree at all, and even persuaded Xia Juhua to accept the money. Not to mention Sun Hongmei, who dared not breathe at home now. She had to look at Liu Zhishuang's eyes before doing anything, for fear that Liu Zhishuang would be unhappy and send her back to her parents' home.
Alas - Xia Juhua let out a long sigh. Before she could think about it, Li Changwang's family had already advised her self-righteously: "Sister Liu, don't feel bad for An Baoling. Old Mrs. Liu is just that kind of person. This has really pushed An Baoling to the edge."
Xia Juhua agreed with this and replied, "Not only Baoling is getting anxious, I think Daya is getting anxious too."
Li Daya was of course anxious. Is "framing" a good word? To frame someone in front of the Red Team is like courting death!
Although Li Daya was just a farmer, farmers in this era attached much more importance to their reputation than they did thirty years later. No one wanted to be branded as a slanderer, let alone a scumbag like Liu Sizhuang.
Li Daya, who was now furious, was no longer the rural woman who stood still and listened to whatever her mother-in-law said. The words that came out of her mouth were as sharp as a knife: "I framed Liu Sizhuang, but was he worthy of my framing? All the old and young people in Ping'an Village are standing here. The revolutionary young men of the Red Team can just ask anyone out, is it necessary for Liu Sizhuang to be framed?"
"They both slacked off at work in the production team every day and went home to eat for free. The work points they earned were not enough to buy their own food. Their son and daughter were raised by my family and Sanzhuang's family. Why would they frame them?"
"Mom, you said I framed him, then let me ask you, where is Liu Sizhuang? Do you dare to come out and explain it to me face to face?!"
An Baoling hated Liu Sizhuang the most, and she yelled to Sun: "Yes, where is Liu Sizhuang? Call him out."
"Second brother, look at your wife, she is going to force your mother to death..." Sun howled unwillingly. She now regarded Liu Erzhuang as a life-saving straw, holding on to his trouser legs tightly, without noticing the disappointment and determination in Liu Erzhuang's eyes.
It was disappointing. Ever since Sun told the Red Team that Li Daya and An Baoling had framed Liu Sizhuang, Liu Erzhuang had been completely disappointed with his own mother. He rescued his trouser legs from Sun's hands bit by bit and said to the leading Red Team member, "I know where Liu Sizhuang's father-in-law lives. I'll take you there."
Sun looked at her empty hands. When she heard that Liu Erzhuang was going to lead the Red Team to Sun's village, she could no longer sit still. She stood up and pointed at Liu Erzhuang's nose and cursed: "Liu Erzhuang, you traitor, you actually brought outsiders to arrest your own brothers. Are you still a human being? When I gave birth to you, I should have drowned you in the urinal!"
"I also wonder why you didn't drown me at that time." Liu Erzhuang treated his mother's label of traitor very calmly.
Having already been disappointed, any more disappointment would not overwhelm Liu Erzhuang.
Sun was stunned by the question. When she came to her senses, Liu Erzhuang and the members of the Red Team were gone. Li Daya was bringing her two sons to help An Baoling carry Liu Sanzhuang into the west room.
The people who were watching the fun were still there, pointing and talking at the wide-open courtyard gate.
No one in or outside the yard paid any attention to Sun. For the first time, Sun felt that she was redundant. Liu Sizhuang began to feel guilty when Liu Erzhuang chased after Liu Sanzhuang to take him to the county hospital. After discussing with Sun, he took his wife and children, took the money from his room and given by Sun - he had to take the money, and Liu Sizhuang also knew that his father-in-law's family would not let their family eat for free - and hid in Sun's village. Now the yard was full of people from the second and third rooms.
None of these people looked at Sun, and none of them advised her to go back to her room and rest. Sun was not the kind of person who could have thought that the second and third wives would ignore her. It was because she was too partial to the second and third wives that everyone had such a big opinion of her, which made them more determined to think that only the youngest son had the best thoughts for her.
In the past, no matter what happened, the youngest son's family always stood on Sun's side. If anyone in the family dared to say a word against Sun, they would refute faster than Sun. Even Liu Sizhuang did not hesitate to beat Liu Sanzhuang until he was bleeding.
No, Sun now had only one thought in her mind, since her youngest son's family was the closest to her, she couldn't let her youngest son be taken away by the Red Team, and she couldn't let the Red Team label her son as a bad element - if her youngest son was labeled a bad element, the second and third wives would be even more proud, and from then on they would no longer care about her as a mother and grandmother.
Humph, since the second child led the Red Team to arrest the fourth child, then he can forget about being the production team leader. Sun thought bitterly, how can an unfilial person be qualified to be a production team leader?
While thinking about Sun, she walked out alone. Seeing how lively it was, she didn't even care about her obviously stupid third son, and was still thinking about going out. So they made way for Sun to leave. Some people followed her, wanting to see what this old lady was trying to do.
When realized that Sun was heading to the brigade, someone ran to inform Li Daya and An Baoling. An Baoling said to Li Daya with some uneasiness: "Second sister-in-law, go and call mother back. If she goes to the brigade and everyone talks nonsense, the second brother, the production team leader..."
Li Daya shook her head nonchalantly: "If he doesn't want to be the leader, then so be it. If he wasn't the production leader and was worried about the bad influence every day, we would have been separated long ago."
Who wouldn't want to live separately? He could keep the work points he earned, and not have to support a lazy brother-in-law who doesn't complain about him. An Baoling nodded in agreement, "That's right. I think Sanzhuang is stupid. Before he was stupid, he did stupid things and didn't get any good results. Now that he's stupid, no one will stop me if I say we should divide the family."
To the person who sent the letter to them...I sent them loneliness.
On second thought, what Li Daya and An Baoling said was right. With a mother-in-law like Sun, a brother-in-law like Liu Sizhuang, and a sister-in-law like Sun Guizhi who is prone to trouble, it is better not to be a production team leader and to just support your own man. No one is willing to share the same pot with them.
So comforted An Baoling, felt sorry for Liu Sanzhuang, and left the old Liu family, and ran to the brigade in a hurry to see what Sun was up to. While running, spread the words of Li Daya and An Baoling, and everyone who heard it cursed Sun and Liu Sizhuang's family.
Xia Juhua had not heard these rumors yet. After everyone had left, she entered the yard of the old Liu family. Without even looking at the main house, she went straight to the west wing where Liu Sanzhuang and his family lived.
"Sister-in-law, you're here." An Baoling could ignore others, but when she saw Xia Juhua, tears fell again: "Sister-in-law, this life can't go on. I have to take San Zhuang and separate from the family to live alone."
Xia Juhua smiled helplessly and did not respond. Instead, she asked, "When Zhishuang came back, he told me that the doctor said that the third child just needed to go home and recuperate. He did not say...how did the third child become like this?"
Liu Sanzhuang, who was lifted onto the kang, was still lying on his back, his eyes still motionless, and he showed no reaction to who was coming or going. Li Daya sighed and said, "When Erzhuang came back, he also said that Lao San was fine. Maybe he meant that the head injury was nothing serious, and he was afraid that his family would worry."
After that, she took Xia Juhua's hand, asked Xia Juhua to sit down on behalf of An Baoling, and said, "Sister-in-law, I've made up my mind. If Erzhuang can't be the production team leader this time, I will also separate from the family and live on my own."
This is your Liu family's own business. It's not right to tell your daughter-in-law who has already separated from the family. Xia Juhua lowered her head and didn't respond.
Li Daya and An Baoling did not think that Xia Juhua was unkind for not giving them advice because of her lack of response. Instead, they thought that their sister-in-law was just that kind of person who always avoided trouble when faced with it.
They told Xia Juhua that they wanted to separate from the family and live on their own. One reason was that they felt so aggrieved and wanted to let everyone know their determination. Another reason was to let Xia Juhua know that they had been bullied by the Sun family for many years just like Xia Juhua, and they understood Xia Juhua's determination to leave the Liu family.
It's not that they want Xia Juhua to sympathize with them, but the eldest wife's life is getting better day by day. Maybe after they separate and live on their own, they will need the eldest wife's help one day. When Liu Sanzhuang was injured, Xia Juhua lent him a hundred yuan without hesitation.
It's just one hundred yuan, and he took it out just by saying so. How many people in Ping An Village can have such confidence?
Xia Juhua had no interest in other people's mental journey, just as she had to leave the old Liu family, and Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang were unable to stop Sun's family. She just comforted An Baoling in a general way, telling her that there was no hurdle that could not be overcome, and maybe Liu Sanzhuang would be able to get over it in a few days.
"Don't worry, let the third child take care of him slowly." Xia Juhua said to An Baoling, "I just heard that the third child has returned, so I put out the fire and came here. I would not feel at ease if I did not see him with my own eyes. Now that I know that he needs to be taken care of, I feel at ease. I will not stay any longer at home because I still have things to do. If you have anything, let Zhijun and his brothers tell me."
An Baoling nodded, took out the money she had borrowed from Xia Juhua yesterday, handed it to her and said, "Sister-in-law, Sanzhuang's medical treatment cost more than ten yuan, and he earned enough from carrying the food bag. You can take this money back first."
Xia Juhua looked at Liu Sanzhuang who was lying motionless with some suspicion. Didn't he say that he never told Sun where the money was? Where did An Baoling get it from?
Seeing that her elder sister-in-law was seeing Liu Sanzhuang, An Baoling thought that she was worried that Liu Sanzhuang would need money for his future illness and that was why she refused to see him. She stuffed money into Xia Juhua's pocket and said, "I don't know when he will stop like this. The money I have is enough for now. When it's not enough, I'll borrow from my sister-in-law."
Li Daya was a little embarrassed and helped persuade Xia Juhua to take the money back first, saying, "It's also because Erzhuang and I are incompetent. My brother encountered such a big problem and was about to get married, but we couldn't come up with money to help. Sister-in-law, don't worry, Erzhuang and I will take care of the third child in the future, and Baoling will not be the only one to suffer."
After hearing what they said, Xia Juhua put the money in her pocket. She didn't doubt that there was something in what Li Daya said. After all, after she separated with her children, Liu Erzhuang and his wife also helped her secretly.
They were able to withstand the pressure from the Sun family back then, so it doesn't make sense that they would ignore Liu Sanzhuang now that they are splitting up.
Seeing Xia Juhua approaching the door, An Baoling remembered something and said, "Sister-in-law, when I led the Red Team into the village, they smelled the smell of fried peanuts in your house and asked whose house it was and why there were so many peanuts. I told them that the supply and marketing cooperative asked you to fry them, but I don't know if they believed me or not."
The Red Team is not a reasonable group of people. If you are targeted by them, you will basically be in trouble. So even if An Baoling is worried about Liu Sanzhuang, she still remembers to remind Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua also shuddered in her heart. She knew how terrifying the Red Squad was. If her family was targeted by the Red Squad, they would at least rob her of her skin. She returned to her home with almost limp legs. She didn't rush to get the freshly fried peanuts, but stared at the bag of peanuts in a daze.
"Mom, how is my third uncle?" Because of Liu Baoguo, Wang Caifeng was afraid that he would be frightened by the crowd watching the excitement, so she didn't go to Old Liu's house. She waited for Xia Juhua to come back and find out if there was anything exciting.
Not wanting her mother-in-law to be in a daze as soon as she got home, Wang Caifeng could only suppress her curiosity and ask a safe question - the mother-in-law herself couldn't gossip about right and wrong, and she asked about the situation of her third uncle as a younger generation caring about the elders, which was not considered as gossiping as a wife.
Xia Juhua was awakened by Wang Caifeng's question. She quickly thought in her mind whether the Red Team would come back to cause her trouble after dealing with the Liu family's affairs. If they came to cause her trouble, then how should she reduce the losses? So she had no intention of answering Wang Caifeng's question.
Maybe because she looked too focused and serious when she was thinking, Wang Caifeng didn't dare to ask further. She held Liu Baoguo in her arms, neither standing nor walking.
Xia Juhua didn't care whether Wang Caifeng stayed or went. All she was thinking was: If the Red Team really wanted to cause trouble for her, who should she ask for help?
As a rural woman, Xia Juhua knew only Liu Erzhuang, who was a production team leader, and the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, who was an official. Liu Erzhuang was now too busy to take care of himself, and besides, his production team leader had left Ping'an Village, and no one would consider him an official. Xia Juhua looked at the kitchen full of fried peanuts and was at a loss as to what to do.
Speaking of frying peanuts, although the supply and marketing cooperative asked her to do it, she charged 1.5 cents per pound as labor fee. If the Red Team gave her a report, Xia Juhua would not be able to explain this.
Plus, if the Red Team deliberately wanted to cause trouble, they would probably search the house, and then the peanuts that Xia Juhua saved with her skills would be dug out and she wouldn't be able to explain them. Thinking of this, Xia Juhua waved her hand at Wang Caifeng and said, "Take Baoguo to see your uncle, he doesn't look well."
Wang Caifeng's face changed when she heard this. It was not good. Why was it not good? At this time, Wang Caifeng was extremely glad that her mother-in-law was Xia Juhua. She did not favor anyone over anyone. She also gave half of the money earned by the men carrying the food bags to her. She did not say that she would keep it all. She would not use the money to subsidize her other son. When the production team distributed dividends, Sun Hongmei wanted to divide it equally between the two families, but her mother-in-law did not agree. This was fairness.
"What is grandma thinking? It's obvious that the second uncle and the third uncle are much more capable than the fourth uncle." Wang Caifeng couldn't understand why Sun's thinking was so different from others. After saying this, she went out holding Liu Baoguo.
Xia Juhua quickly closed the gate, went back to pack the raw peanuts she had saved for the past few days, and moved them into the vegetable cellar. The temperature inside the vegetable cellar was higher than outside, and there were cabbages and sweet potatoes, so it was not a good place to store raw peanuts. Xia Juhua was in a hurry, so she dug a hole in the cabbage pile that could fit the bag, put it in, and covered it with the cabbages, and then she felt a little relieved.
Coming out of the vegetable cellar, looking at the fried and unfried peanuts, Xia Juhua still felt uneasy. She felt that even if the peanuts she earned were confiscated by the Red Team, she could not let the supply and marketing cooperative suffer losses as well - the Red Team would not listen to explanations when they confiscated a person's property. If the peanuts from the supply and marketing cooperative were also confiscated as hers, she would not have so many peanuts to compensate the supply and marketing cooperative.
Thinking of this, she rushed out again and knocked on Chen Dongsheng's door. She asked Sun Zhaodi to see Wang Caifeng when she came back and tell her that she was going to the supply and marketing cooperative and she didn't need to wait for her for lunch. Then she strode to the commune.
She had to hurry up. The peanuts were already half fried. She had to ask the supply and marketing cooperative to take them away quickly. Even if they didn't pay her, it was better than letting the Red Team take them all. When she arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, sweat kept dripping from her cheeks. It looked very funny in the winter, which scared Wang Caixia: "What happened to you? Look at how sweaty you are."
Xia Juhua didn't bother to chat with her, and pulled her aside to ask, "Is the director here? I need to talk to him about the fried peanuts."
Seeing how anxious she was, Wang Caixia didn't bother to talk to her anymore and took Xia Juhua to see the director. The director was also a little surprised to see Xia Juhua and asked, "You finished frying the peanuts so quickly?"
Xia Juhua smiled bitterly and shook her head, saying, "No, I just fried 1,200 to 1,300 kilograms. Director, I'm in trouble. I may not be able to fry peanuts for the supply and marketing cooperative anymore."
The director's brows furrowed: "What's the matter? Is it your production team that disagrees? I have already told your production team leader that you help us fry peanuts, and when the supply and marketing cooperative arrives with fertilizers in the spring, your production team will be given priority. Why did he change his mind?" Other production teams would not even dare to think of such a good thing. The leader of the Ping'anzhuang production team must be stupid.
Xia Juhua shook her head and told the director that it was not the production team leader who changed his mind, but that the Red Team might have set their sights on her: "Although they can't take care of me now, I'm afraid that if they have time, they will come to trouble me."
"I'm fine with being scolded and stabbed, but I'm afraid they'll take all the peanuts without any reason, which will cause the supply and marketing cooperative to suffer a huge loss. Director, do you think you can spare some people now? Let them bring back all the peanuts. I don't want the wages for the roasted peanuts."
When she said she didn't want the wages, Xia Juhua was really reluctant to give them up, because she had fried all the peanuts with her own shovel. Peanuts were fine, but the supply and marketing cooperative would always send white sugar for frosting along with the peanuts. For poor rural areas, white sugar was a rare good thing.
Every time Xia Juhua uses it sparingly, she also has to ensure that the icing is applied evenly, which is really a skill. Because of her craftsmanship, in addition to saving raw peanuts, she also saved nearly a pound of white sugar during this period, wrapped it in packaging paper, and Xia Juhua carefully put it at the bottom of the cabinet for emergency use.
After hearing Xia Juhua's concerns, the director of the supply and marketing cooperative was actually amused: "So that's why you made a special trip. If you had known earlier, you would have just sent someone a message."
Xia Juhua was a bit confused when she thought the sky was falling and the director made such a light statement. "Director, those peanuts are public property. If they are stolen by the Red Team, I can't afford the compensation."
The director still looked at her and smiled: "You are too cautious. The peanuts you fried the last two times were handed over to the county supply and marketing cooperative by me, and they received good reviews from the county supply and marketing cooperative. That's why I let you fry so much this time." He was just the director of a small commune supply and marketing cooperative. Even if he had a good relationship with the commune grain station, it was impossible for him to take out 2,000 kilograms of peanuts at once. Those were all brought back from the county.
Xia Juhua listened in bewilderment, still not understanding what the director said had to do with the possibility that the Red Team would raid her home. The director did not keep her in suspense, and said to Xia Juhua with a smile: "The county supply and marketing cooperative will not let our supply and marketing cooperative provide specialty products for free. It is agreed that the first batch of fertilizers will be supplied to our Red Star Commune in the spring of next year."
"I have reported this good news to the director of the commune's revolutionary committee. The director strongly supports our request for you to continue frying peanuts. Don't worry, with the support of the revolutionary committee, the Red Team can't do anything to you."
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